Month: November 2014

(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

In a sports-loaded weekend that included LeBron and the Cavs losing their fourth straight, Roger and Stan winning for Switzerland their first Davis Cup trophy, Lewis Hamilton subduing his teammate Nico Rosberg in Abu Dhabi for the F1 title — the highlight was Manny Pacquiao’s impressive victory over Chris Algieri.

Lopsided? No contest? Walay bout? Not in the same league? Check, check, check, check. All of the above.

But first, Mommy Dionisia. What a character. It’s obvious that the strong persona of Manny came from his mom. What an actress, a stage mom, a prayerful warrior, a newly-in-love woman this lady. Her falling to her knees. Her holding the rosary and blessing a reluctant Manny. She’s as much of a star as her son — in fact, she elicited the loudest cheers when the cameras focused on her. Amazing, remarkable Mommy D.

Chris Algieri? All the ladies in attendance swooned over his good looks. “Pildi si Manny!” the shouts were heard, “Sa pa-gwapohay.” They also commented on the man who stood beside Algieri before the bout’s start. Was that his handsome brother? Well, as it turned out and as everyone predicted, Algieri was just that: all good looks but a mediocre boxer.

MP and CA are not in the same category. One has 60-plus bouts fighting the greatest welterweights of all time; the other is a Big Apple native whose 20 wins came against unknowns.

It showed last Sunday. Alan Choachuy commented: “Algieri better join the Cebu Marathon!” I agree. We’ll ask Rio de la Cruz to give him a complimentary 21K slot. He ran in circles around the square ring. Dr. Ronnie Medalle gave our group (in Ray and Letty Patuasi’s house that included Dr. Grace and Bryan Borja, Atty. Jephte and Sandra Romea, Dr. Ron and Raycia Eullaran) a wise suggestion: Can’t they make the ring much smaller so there’s no escape and no running around?

This was Algieri’s only strategy. Had he engaged, faced the Pinoy squarely, stood his ground and not sidestepped — the fight would have been over in 19 minutes. He did what he had to do and he survived. That was his goal, to last the full 36-minutes distance.

Four times he fell to the floor (plus two more times when he slipped). He stood up, green eyes dazed, lanky legs wobbly, mind vacillating and arms wavering, the tussle in his shoes tired from all the flip-flop — but he fought on. We also have to give him applause. He’s tough. In that Round 9 when he tumbled (I’ve never seen that before!), many a fighter would have folded. They’d have quit. But not the 30-year-old. The following round, his legs sprung to action, his arms active. He was alive. He “won” by simply being able to stand up at fight’s end.

(Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

With Pacquiao, the “disappointment” was the lack of a defining knockout. He tried. And this was a much more aggressive Manny than we’ve seen in his last few contests. Freddie Roach wanted that KO and he broadcasted it. But what to do onstage when your partner won’t dance? “It takes two to tango,” says the line. In boxing, unless the victim wants to be subdued, there’s little you can do if he dances solo.

Here’s the question: Did the God-fearing and now-free-from-vices Manny P. relax in Round 12, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to floor Algieri anyway, and just coast through the final three minutes to pocket his $25 million?

“That was a Christian demonstration and a humane type of boxing,” reported Mayor Michael Rama minutes after the unanimous proclamation. “Manny is a good man. Boxing is not about butchering people.”

With that charismatic smile that Manny flashed and that friendly touch-of-gloves that he invoked upon Algieri prior to R12’s start, yes, I agree, Manny is not the Manny of the 2007 to 2010 era when he would destroy and maim the tomato-faced gladiator fronting him. He’s more compassionate and knows that boxing is savage and it’s man hurting man. He aims to win, gets the win — never mind if there’s no KO — and climbs the ring corner to raise his arms in thanksgiving to the Macau fans and to Almighty God.

(Chris Farina/Top Rank)

What we love about Manny Pacquiao is his knockout power. Who’ll forget his perfect stab on Ricky Hatton’s cheek in Round 2? Or the forward-lunging attacks on Erik Morales? Or, with blood smearing his baldhead, the Miguel Cotto stoppage in R12?

In Manny’s pro career spanning 63 fights, of the 56 times that he’s triumphed, he won via KO on 38 occasions (versus only 18 by decision). That’s a high 68 percent. In the three times that my very own eyes have watched him, my most memorable sight was when he floored Fahsan Por Thawatchai with a left hook that saw the Thai fly in Manila. In boxing formulations, the equation is simple: MP = KO.

But there’s a problem: That was then. The last time Pacquiao knocked cold an opponent was Cotto five Novembers ago. Correction! The last time Pacquiao was involved in a knockout was when HE was KO’d – by J. M. Marquez two years ago.

That’s the past. Today is 11-23-14, a brand new morning. Will the Gen. Santos City native return to his former self against the New Yorker today? We all wish. But his past fights explain a weakening and he’s-getting-old Congressman. Since that TKO over Cotto in Nov. of 2009, Manny fought eight more times – winning six and losing twice. What’s troubling is that none of those six wins came via KO; each was an “MD” or a “UD.”

Will today be different? One person is confident and it’s Manny’s confidant. “He showed signs of greatness in training. He was knocking sparring partners down,” said Freddie Roach, who knows his student more than any other. “It’s not enough to win nowadays. You have to win impressively, and knockouts are impressive. I love knockouts.”

Who doesn’t? The top reason why we follow boxing is not simply to endure 36 minutes of jabs, pokes, head butts and chest-to-chest sweaty hugs. We all await that knockout. That single moment perfected in time when the fist collides with the face.

Boxing would be boring without that KO. It’s more than baseball’s homerun; more than a Dwight Howard slam dunk; it’s like a football goal, waiting patiently for 90 minutes before that kick or header greets the net – but boxing’s knockout is even more thrilling.

Does Pacquiao still possess that SuperManny force? Can his present fists replicate his past feats?

First, let’s remember his age. Though Manny’s not Bernard Hopkins-old (who’ll turn 50 this Jan.), our fellow Pinoy is no longer youthful. This Dec. 17, he’ll turn 36. Considering that he started this warfare state in his teens, that’s over two decades of battered bodies and bloodied fists.

Two: he’s moved up in weight. Said Roach: “He has only knocked out two welterweights (Cotto and a weight-drained De La Hoya) since we’ve moved up in weight for the big fights. All those other big knockouts were in smaller divisions.”

His point? The bigger the man you’re facing, the more daunting the task of putting him to sleep. A recent example was Nonito Donaire, dominant in his previous category but outclassed by the larger Nicholas Walters. If Manny wins today, Team Pacquiao is signaling a return to lighter weight divisions.

“The real question is, how do I feel and how do I perform when I return to those lower weights?” said Pacquiao. “I could be faster than when I fought at welterweight and (junior middleweight), and if my power remains the same, I may be able to score more knockouts at lower weights. I weighed 138 when I knocked out Ricky Hatton, 142 when I stopped Oscar De La Hoya and 144 when I scored a TKO of Miguel Cotto. Many people consider those fights some of my best, so why not go back down if that is where the bigger and better fights are going to be fought?”

That’s next year. Today, the strategy is to go for the jugular. “This is what I’m going to do to this kid (Algieri),” Manny told Roach. “I’m going to knock him out early.”

Roach agrees. “Manny is an eight-division champion with speed and power. When he hurts a guy, he knows what to do. Chris Algieri is not fighting Ruslan (Provodnikov). This is not a ‘Rocky’ movie. It might be one round.”

Let’s see the boast.